13 year old??? Even in 1945 boys had to be at least 16 to join the army. My uncle just reached age 16, wanted to join in spring 45 but was rejected because already three of his brothers had died in the war in the East. This is what my mother (born 1931) told me some years ago.
cimmex
Thats not my understanding. My father fought in the defence of Berlin at the very end. On April 23rd, battalions made up entirely of Hitler Youths all of them under the age of 16 were quickly formed to hold the Pichelsdorf bridges by the Havel River. These bridges in Berlin were supposed to be used by General Wenck's relief army coming from the south. That army, unknown to the boys, had already been destroyed and now existed on paper only. It was one of several phantom armies being commanded by Hitler to save encircled Berlin. How does my father know that....he was there, and helped to organise these battalions of child soldiers. he still has nightmares about it.
At the Pichelsdorf bridges, 5,000 boys, wearing man-sized uniforms several sizes too big and helmets that flopped around on their heads, stood by with rifles and Panzerfausts, ready to oppose the Russian Army. Within five days of battle, 4,500 had been killed or wounded. In other parts of Berlin, HJ boys met similar fates. Many committed suicide rather than be taken alive by the Russians.
In February 1945, project Werewolf began, training German children as spies and saboteurs, intending to send them behind Allied lines with explosives and arsenic. But the project came to nothing as most of these would-be saboteurs were quickly captured or killed by the Allies as they advanced into the Reich.
In his last public appearance, just ten days before his death, Adolf Hitler ventured out of his Berlin bunker on his 56th birthday into the Chancellery garden to decorate members of the hitler Youth serving in the armed forces. Admittedly may of these boys were not in front line combat roles, many were serving as as runners and messengers and the like, but they were still soldiers. One of those decorated soldiers was a twelve-year-old Hitler Youth with an Iron Cross for hisr heroism in the defense of Berlin. The extraordinary event was captured on film and remains one of the most enduring images chronicling the collapse of Hitler's thousand-year Reich, as the tottering, senile-looking Führer is seen congratulating little boys staring at him with worshipful admiration. They were then sent back out into the streets to continue the hopeless fight.
From 1939, immediately following the fall of Poland, Hitler Youth (actually Jungvolk....Hitler Youth below the age of 14) including girls, were attached to the Land Service were assigned to the acquired territory in northern Poland (Warthegau) to assist in the massive Nazi repopulation program in which native Poles were forced off their homes and farms by Himmler's SS troops to make way for ethnic Germans. Hitler Youths also assisted in this operation by watching over Polish families as they were evicted from their homes, making sure they took only a few basic possessions. These boys were armed, making them the firdst boy soldiers in the german armed forces.
By the beginning of 1943, Hitler's armies were stretched to the limit, battling the combined forces of Soviet Russia, United States, Britain and other Allies. By this time, most able-bodied German men were in the armed services. As a result, starting on January 26, 1943, many anti-aircraft batteries were officially manned solely by Hitler Youth boys. The boys manning the guns were Hitler Youth, ostensibly over the age of 16, but in reality including many as young as 14.
At first they were stationed at flak guns near their homes, but as the overall situation deteriorated, they were transferred all over Germany. As the situation worsened, the younger boys of the Jungvolk were brought into help and were were assigned to operate search lights and assist with communications, often riding their bicycles as dispatch riders. In October 1943, a search light battery received a direct bomb hit, killing the entire crew of boys, all aged 14 and under.